Phonics Friday

Thank you so much to all the grown ups who were able to join us for our first Phonics Friday! The children loved showing their adults all their learning about s and a. We already can’t wait for next week! 

RG BBC Music Day

Yesterday, we had a fabulous day celebrating BBC Music Day! We love singing and talked about how we love to sing nursery and number rhymes everyday.

We did some special singing by the group 'Singing Hands'. We watched the videos and sang along whilst also learning Makaton actions.

Our favourites are 'Little Peter Rabbit' and '5 Little Firemen'. See if you can give these songs a try at home!

Magic Mark Making!

The children new to school in Reception have settled in really well over the last few weeks. Before we can begin our Phonics lessons we need to play lots of listening games and get excited about mark making.

The children have loved making their own mud paint and using this to create designs. They have painted shapes and even written secret messages!

They are also showing great skill in drawing and colouring which is going to help them be the best writers.

RB's picnic in the sunshine!

RB had a lovely afternoon having a class picnic outside on the grass. RB gained all their marbles in the jar and voted for a picnic in the sunshine. We made our own sandwiches and got to spread them by ourselves. We sat next to friends in the big playground and played games using the giant scrunchie and parachute.

Longdown Mobile Farm

What an incredible visit Reception had today from Farmer Ian and his animals! They children loved meeting and petting all the animals and we learnt a lot about animals and their babies which links to our learning on growing. It has inspired lots of farm learning this afternoon so we will be following the children’s interest and working this into our child unified learning. Thanks to Longodwn for another amazing experience!

Science Week

The 11th-15th March was Science and DT week in Shirley Warren!  The theme of the week was Journeys with each year group having their own stimulus to explore.

Year R - Looked at tunnels: thinking about what makes a good one before constructing their own.

Year 1 - Looked at bridges: thinking about what materials would be best before creating their own that would have to carry the weight of a beebot.

Year 2 - Looked at static electricity and how it could transport the paper animals they made.

Year 3 - Found out about the important role bees play in pollination and then created their own digital animations to show this.

Year 4 - Investigated forces and the effect they had on the fabulous flying machines they created.  They then used iPads to create their own explanation videos.

Year 5 - Found out all about scientists that had visited space.

Year 6 - Had two mini projects of their own; 6L investigated natural disasters whilst 6W looked at the journey of diseases before creating their own viral videos.

The children thoroughly enjoyed practically investigating these areas and learnt lots during the week! Special mention needs to go to the ambassadors from each class that stood up in a special assembly at the end of the week and shared what they had been doing; they were fantastic.

If you want to find out more, why not ask your child what they discovered during this week or try and carry out your own experiment at home!

Lucky us!

RG would like to say a big thank you to Miss Griffiths’ auntie who donated us a lovely sofa! It has been a great addition to our reading corner already and the children are loving cosying up to read lots of stories. We have a box of books in here that the children have written themselves so we are hoping this will be a lovely incentive to develop both our reading and writing skills.

Growing Galore!

Here in Recpetion we’ve had a lovely day planting potatoes! The children carefully filled the bags with soil, planted the seed potatoes, covered in soil and watered them. Let’s hope the children remember to water them everyday and soon we will have some yummy potatoes to cook! This has inspired us to see if we can bring our broccoli plants back to life too.

Reception are Scientists!

Last week the children loved engaging in lots of experiments for science week. We followed the children’s interests to predict what would happen, carry out experiments and evaluate our ideas after. We kept celery in coloured water to see how it changed colour, we explored potion making and did the skittles challenge. One of the children said “I think the water is going to turn a different colour and the skittle will all go white” - what a great prediction! This week this children are carrying on by exploring different materials and magnets. Come and ask us what we find out!

Brilliant bones!

Here in reception the children have shown a big interest in their bodies. We have been talking about our veins, hearts and skeletons. We have provided lots of activities to help the children support their fascination and look at what great work they are doing!

Friendship in Reception

This week we have had some lovely coloured string added to our making tables. We are following the children’s interests in making friendship bracelets. Yesterday the children asked for adults to plait them for them but today they are trying themselves! It is a great activity for developing our fine motor skills and perseverance as it is a tricky job but they’re doing fantastic! This also fits in well with anit-bullying week so we have been using this as an opportunity to talk about what a good friend looks likein Reception.

Phonics Heroes

In Reception we are loving our phonics lessons! The children are doing great at learning the sounds and beginning to write and read them in simple words. They are excited to start phonics in the morning and are happily doing these activities in their independent time too. Superstars!

Treat in RG

RG worked hard the whole of last half term and earned their treat! We finished off the half term with a balloon party which was so much fun! Well done to everyone for their good learning, keep your eyes peeled on the blog to see our learning for our new topic ‘celebrations’.

Safer Internet Day: Advice

As you know, today was 'Safer Internet Day.'  The children spent the day taking part in activities and discussions to help them analyse their online behaviour so that they could identify the best ways that they could keep themselves safe when they are online.

To help you support your child in this, we have included information from the 'Safer Internet Day' website which is specifically aimed at parents.


https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-centre/parents-and-carers/parents-guide-technology 

Christmas Carols on the Steps

Last night we had our Shirley Warren Christmas Tradition of "Carols on the Steps" - it was amazing and it SNOWED! 

A special visitor in Reception

This morning the children found out that we are expecting a visitor today. Could it be a dentist to check our teeth? Or the police to talk to us about how to keep safe? No, it was Santa and Mrs Claus! We sang a song and chatted to Santa who thanked us and gave us some presents in return.

RG Performance

A big well done to RG for their amazing performance this week! They loved showing the grown ups what they've been working hard on and it was great to hear so many mums and dads singing with us. What superstars!! 🌟

KS1 and Reception Disco!

We have some very spooky pictures to share with you... Be warned! KS1 and Reception have had a fantastic time at their disco. What spooky costumes they all had! Even some of the grown ups dressed up! I bet you can't guess who the children are behind the masks!!!

Problem Solvers in Reception

One activity this week in our outdoor environment has been the painting of a large branch. The children have been doing a great job of working collaboratively to achieve this and have had lots of lovely discussions while involved. They were finding it tricky to reach the top of the branch and this encouraged some lovely problem solving! The children discussed the resources outside that could help them and eventually decided the stepping stones would be a useful and safe way of solving the problem. What great thinking skills!

Listening games in Reception

Take a look at our hard working bunnies using their listening ears this week in Phonics. We have been   guessing the animals hiding in the box just by listening to the noise they make, we have chosen the right musical instrument by following their sound and used our big listening ears on a walk outside.